Okay so i am buying my first board because i am grown out of others and i want one. So i recently went with my friend and had a blast. He was a really good skier and pushed to my limits which made me progress really fast. I hit a jump that i would never think of doing. Well anyways now you know a little about me. I like to do rails and boxes but i love to jump aswell. I would like a playful board that is forgiving. I like to go to the top and then ride to down the park and go through. I am not quite sure what my style is so could you help me out there? Also i hear good and bad about burton and i dont want to start why its good or bad. But i am looking into a Burton hero or Burton Custom V Rocker, but that damn channel system is a turn off (which i have heard good and bad about aswell). I have no idea how or what bindings are good. I will most likely be buying from sierrasnowboard because they have great prices right now. I am looking at getting the dragon rogue-i goggles, i have tried them on at the store and i like em. So i dunno i am confused because i dont want to be stuck with a board i dont like but i dont care if people give me crap for riding burton, honestly what does it matter what we ride anyways?!?!

first off...dragon goggles are the shit! i have rogues too and they are awesome, so get them haha.

people dont like burton because its the most recognizable brand in snowboarding so some of the cost you pay is for the name. however, i am a somewhat seasoned burton buyer (2 burton boards, and three pairs of bindings) and they make a great product. they have the money to develope new technology and they stuff is high quality. you'll probably like the custom. as i understand, its a great "kill everything" board and a lot of pros shred the custom(heikki Sorsa for example). it will handle trails, jumps, and jibs. im a camber rider so i cant comment on the rocker aspect, i dont trust it on big jumps.

i just bought a Flow Quantum and it slays in the park as well as trails. its a sick board for all abilities so check it out. GNU riders Choice is worth a look too. it was my second boards and i loved it. the riders choice will shred park and trails also. dont pay attention to "beginner, intermediate, or advanced" labels for boards because it really doesnt matter. you sound like you're progressing fairly quickly so you dont have to worry.

the channel system is nothing to be afraid of. it gives you infinite binding placements and quick on-hill change ability. the only downfall is that you are limited with your binding choice. i love burton bindings so i would have no reservations getting the burton ESTs. other companies are starting to make base plate adapters now, i know flow does for sure. if you wanna stay cheap, EST missions and cartels are great bindings. if you get a board without the channel, check out burton triads. i have had 2 pairs so far and they are the most comfortable bindings i've riden. they are higher end and kind of expensive so again, cartels or missions if you dont got the cash. i only ride burton bindings so i cant give you any info on other companies but if i did go with another company, flow or union sound like good shit. some people will tell you not to get plastic bindings but they are full of shit because the chance of falling so hard that you crack the binding base is SLIM TO NONE. metal bindings are for the paranoid(IMO).

If you don’t want to be stuck with EST and whatever, get the Skate Banana. It’s an all around reverse camber board that is relatively easy to learn on. It’s made for just what you want to do. Ride and then pass through the park. Works good in powder and has been described as having “power steering”. It also works well on icy areas too because it's patented edge shape. It has won the most awards in snowboard history so it’s can be a “safe bet” as your first board.

The only thing that might be a negative about it is that it’s a true twin…identical in both directions but not better in one, so if you don’t care for riding switch at any time in the near future, it’s better to get a directional board. The TRS is like a directional Skate Banana, but is a bit stiffer.

Oh, and don't get the Burton Hero unless you're planning to be a park rat. It's a super specialized board. It might be really forgiving and great for learning, but unless you're planning to get a new board for "riding down to the park", it's really bad outside the park compared to other boards out there.

some people will tell you not to get plastic bindings but they are full of shit because the chance of falling so hard that you crack the binding base is SLIM TO NONE. metal bindings are for the paranoid(IMO).

Disagree completely, personal experience>all.

Burton boards are fine, although I fall under the "similar/same performing boards can probably be found for less" camp. If you know there's a specific model you want though, I'd definitely go for it. I'm not a big fan of the IDEA (I can't comment if it works) on being confined to Burton bindings, and while I realize there's adapters I feel that might increase the chances of mishaps.

I'd definitely take a look at some other companies as well. Ride, k2, Rome, and NeverSummer ($$$) all have pretty good reputations for both boards and bindings (sans NeverSummer on the bindings as they have none). There's also GNU/Lib-Tech with their banana tech and magnatraction (I personally prefer a smooth side, smooth ride concept).

Ride's Machete might be something to look into as it's supposed to be able to handle the mountain, be good in the park, and it has a lowrise rocker (so rocker, but not an insane amount).
k2 has the Darkstar which is a park board that can be taken out of the park easily. The Angry Snowboarder Blog Archive K2 Darkstar with Ever Bindings A Closer Look is a review of the Darkstar.
Rome... has boards. People seem happy with them, that's all I can say
NeverSummer has both the SL and the Evo that sound like they might fit your wants. If you're looking for a more park specific board, go with the Evo. Based off of conversations on the forum, the Evo is actually stable enough to take almost anywhere on the mountain while still being a great park board. The SL is going to be a lot stiffer, so unless you want an all mountain board I'd go with the Evo out of those two.

I ended up buying the Burton Custom V Rocker with Burton Cartel EST Bindings. I just got back from a week of boarding in Austria and really had a great time with my new board. I only had about ten days of experience and didnt ride a snowboard for more then five years prior to the trip. The Custom Rocker felt definitely very easy to ride and did a good job (as far as I can tell) in the powder as well. Yet its relatively soft. The only drawback about the Custom Rocker is that the top scratches up easily. As far as the Channel system goes I think it really does work as advertised and gives you a good feeling of the board as well as making it very easy to adjust your bindings. The only drawback about the Custom Rocker is that the top scratches up very easily. Unless you prefer Flow bindings I dont see why you wouldnt want to buy an EST binding from Burton.

If you dont mind spending a little more money seach for the Never Summer SL-R or Evo-R.